ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Trauma before enlistment linked to high suicide rates among military personnel, veterans, research finds
• Regular marijuana use bad for teens' brains
• Happier consumers can lead to healthier environment, research reveals
• Promise for new nerve repair technique
• Editing HPV's genes to kill cervical cancer cells
• Expecting to teach enhances learning, recall
• Scientists confirm effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation in MS
• Link between maternal age, emergency delivery shown
• Treatment developed by biologists shows promise in fighting fibrotic disease
• New culprit identified in metabolic syndrome
• Celebrity promotion of charities 'is largely ineffective' says research
• Finding genetic culprits that drive antibiotic resistance: Genome-wide association study in disease-causing bacteria paves way for clinical tool

Trauma before enlistment linked to high suicide rates among military personnel, veterans, research finds Posted: 09 Aug 2014 11:14 AM PDT High rates of suicide among military service members and veterans may be related to traumatic experiences they had before enlisting, making them more vulnerable to suicidal behavior when coping with combat and multiple deployments, according to the findings of several recent studies. Experiencing child abuse, being sexually victimized by someone not in the service and exhibiting suicidal behavior before enlisting are significant risk factors for service members and veterans who attempt or commit suicide.

Regular marijuana use bad for teens' brains Posted: 09 Aug 2014 11:14 AM PDT Frequent marijuana use can have a significant negative effect on the brains of teenagers and young adults, including cognitive decline, poor attention and memory, and decreased IQ, according to psychologists. "It needs to be emphasized that regular cannabis use, which we consider once a week, is not safe and may result in addiction and neurocognitive damage, especially in youth," said one expert.

Happier consumers can lead to healthier environment, research reveals Posted: 09 Aug 2014 11:14 AM PDT The pursuit of true happiness can lead people to lifestyles that will not only be satisfying but will be better for the environment, according to an overview of psychological research. Several studies have determined that people's basic psychological needs include competence, autonomy, positive relationships, self-acceptance and personal growth. And research has shown that rather than fulfilling these needs, the pursuit of money and possessions takes time away from more personally fulfilling activities and social relationships.

Promise for new nerve repair technique Posted: 08 Aug 2014 01:34 PM PDT A new nerve repair technique yields better results and fewer side effects than other existing techniques, research shows. Traumatic nerve injuries are common, and when nerves are severed, they do not heal on their own and must be repaired surgically. Injuries that are not clean-cut -- such as saw injuries, farm equipment injuries, and gunshot wounds -- may result in a gap in the nerve.

Editing HPV's genes to kill cervical cancer cells Posted: 08 Aug 2014 01:34 PM PDT Using the genome editing tool known as CRISPR, researchers were able to selectively silence two genes in human papilloma virus that are responsible for the growth and survival of cervical carcinoma cells. After silencing the two HPV genes, the cancer cell's normal self-destruct machinery went into action.

Expecting to teach enhances learning, recall Posted: 08 Aug 2014 01:34 PM PDT People learn better and recall more when given the impression that they will soon have to teach newly acquired material to someone else, suggests new research. Findings of the study suggest that simply telling learners that they would later teach another student changes their mindset enough so that they engage in more effective approaches to learning than did their peers who simply expected a test.

Scientists confirm effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation in MS Posted: 08 Aug 2014 01:34 PM PDT In individuals with MS, patterns of brain activity associated with learning were maintained at six months post training, scientists report in a new article following up on a long term study. For the pilot study, participants underwent evaluation of memory performance and brain activity at baseline, immediately following memory retraining, and at 6-month followup. Results showed that the patterns of increased cerebral activation that correlated with learning were maintained at 6-month followup.

Link between maternal age, emergency delivery shown Posted: 08 Aug 2014 01:34 PM PDT An increased risk of emergency operative delivery is linked with increasing maternal age, suggests a new study. The study used a sample of 169,583 low risk, first-time mothers in Norway, to examine the association between maternal age and emergency operative delivery, which include emergency caesarean section and operative vaginal delivery (forceps or ventouse).

Treatment developed by biologists shows promise in fighting fibrotic disease Posted: 08 Aug 2014 09:39 AM PDT A decade after first identifying serum amyloid P (SAP) as a key protein in human blood that controls routine tissue-related processes from scarring to healing, two scientists continue to make encouraging progress in the fight against fibrotic disease.

New culprit identified in metabolic syndrome Posted: 08 Aug 2014 09:39 AM PDT Uric acid may play a role in causing metabolic syndrome, a cluster of risk factors that increases the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes, a new study indicates. Uric acid is a normal waste product removed from the body by the kidneys and intestines and released in urine and stool. Elevated levels of uric acid are known to cause gout, an accumulation of the acid in the joints. High levels also are associated with the markers of metabolic syndrome.

Celebrity promotion of charities 'is largely ineffective' says research Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:08 AM PDT Celebrity promotion of charities is ineffective at raising awareness, but can make the stars more popular with the public, new research says. "Regardless of what celebrities may want in terms of publicity -- and the interviews suggest that many would seek to maximize the attention given to their cause, and not to them -- it is clear that the celebrity can often do better out of this attention than their causes," researchers report.

Finding genetic culprits that drive antibiotic resistance: Genome-wide association study in disease-causing bacteria paves way for clinical tool Posted: 07 Aug 2014 11:56 AM PDT A powerful new tool has been developed that could help in developing more effective treatment and control strategies for antibiotic resistance within the next decade. Researchers used a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to find the single-letter changes in the DNA of Streptococcus pneumoniae that enable it to evade antibiotic treatment. Until now, GWAS has been able to identify only general areas where DNA changes have occurred. However, by using a rich data set of over 3,000 samples, researchers have been able to get precise data on the locations of changes that cause resistance.

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